In renaissance Italy, a tondo was a round painting or sculpture often displayed in a private setting. The video introduces these circular works by looking closely at Sandro Botticelli’s elegant fifteenth-century tondo depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Who doesn’t love a good circle?

0:34 What is a Tondo?

0:48 Where do we find them?

1:03 Botticelli’s Tondo

1:40 Why were they made?

1:54 The Tondo and the Deschi da Parto (birth trays)

2:00 Who owned these works?

2:10 The round shapes guide our eyes and make meaning

2:15 Who and what do we see in Botticelli’s tondo?